SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…the entire purpose of Great Lent is repentance, which is cleaning up our Christian life, and our church communities so that people will want to come and see more of Christ based on our witness of Him.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis) “In the coming fast we have the opportunity to awaken our hearts and minds to Christ, who calls us to undertake the regimen of fasting. However, He does not wish us to abstain in narrow, slavish obedience to a set of rules concerning the intake

“People feel unhappy and they don't know why. They feel that something is wrong, but they can't put their finger on what...They have everything, yet they want more. And when they get more, they are still left ...dissatisfied. They want happiness and peace, but nothing seems to bring it. They want fulfillment, but it never seems to come. Everything is fine, and yet everything is wrong...It is covered over by frantic activity, and endless running around.... It is drowned out by

“The Church’s tradition of fasting exists to restore balance between body and soul, between penitence and rejoicing, between us and the world around us…When the body is humbled, our thoughts become more peaceful, too. This is the purpose of fasting.” (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “Withdrawing from earthly things whets our spiritual appetite for Christ’s heavenly gifts…fasting never devalues earthly things, but in a spirit of gratitude re

“There are very few people who come to their senses, very few who understand life. We pray with our lips only, and we hurry through our prayers to “get it over with” as soon as possible, and then we lose peace. Fasting and prayer are a means of embellishing our soul and bringing it back to its original state.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “...God’s answers [to prayers] come from God’s perspective. They are not always in harmony with our expectations, for only he knows the wh

“The Apostle Paul, by using the imagery of rebirth (Galatians 4:19), directs us to consider what it means when Christ is “born in us.” Our emphasis shifts inward toward our spiritual formation and the interior growth that ultimately produces godly thoughts, actions, choices, and words. How does this inner formation occur? To have Christ formed in us, we must enjoy day-to-day contact with Him and engage in regular personal interaction with the Lord.” (Dynamis 9/7/2018) “All th

“The uncreated Son of God will assume created human flesh, restoring the relationship with Him that mankind lost as a result of the Fall (see Rom 8:19–23). The whole world shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord…through the incarnation, God and humanity are reconciled and communion is restored not according to a substitutionary formula or measure of infinite satisfaction for sin in God’s mind but by the power of divine love, first in Christ the God-man and second in th

“The first ministry of every person in the Church is to work on himself or herself. We must sanctify ourselves…Being our own best friend is a recognition that what God has created is good, and the invitation to commune with our Creator God has set us apart from the rest of creation. Being our own best friend is a way to kindle a grateful heart within ourselves and to open ourselves to the love God has for us. This gives us the ability to love God and to love others.” (Metropo